Florida Hospitals being overrun?

[SkBlogW]

I keep seeing headlines like these in the media:

Florida hospitals are overrun as state fights one of the worst Covid outbreaks in the U.S.

The fear merchants in the media are using the same tricks they deployed during the last surge. They find a few hospitals that are at 100% capacity or beyond, and write the article to imply its all hospitals.

I like to check John Hopkins website for accurate data.

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend/florida)

You can hover your cursor over each week to get the 7 day moving average. For the week ending yesterday (Aug 15) Florida shows 91% of ICU beds occupied, which is busy but they normally run at 85%. The ICU beds occupied by covid patients is less than 50%, so hospitals are busy treating all kinds of patients.

What about the entire US?

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend)

Total ICU beds occupied = 76%

Covid patients occupy 22% of all ICU beds available

The Florida Delta surge will peak fairly soon and then start going down, just like last summer. Now the Delta surge will start happening up north as it gets cooler. We'll see if they write the same panic inducing reports when that happens.

[ctmurray]

I keep seeing headlines like these in the media:

Florida hospitals are overrun as state fights one of the worst Covid outbreaks in the U.S.

The fear merchants in the media are using the same tricks they deployed during the last surge. They find a few hospitals that are at 100% capacity or beyond, and write the article to imply its all hospitals.

I like to check John Hopkins website for accurate data.

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend/florida)

You can hover your cursor over each week to get the 7 day moving average. For the week ending yesterday (Aug 15) Florida shows 91% of ICU beds occupied, which is busy but they normally run at 85%. The ICU beds occupied by covid patients is less than 50%, so hospitals are busy treating all kinds of patients.

What about the entire US?

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend)

Total ICU beds occupied = 76%

Covid patients occupy 22% of all ICU beds available

The Florida Delta surge will peak fairly soon and then start going down, just like last summer. Now the Delta surge will start happening up north as it gets cooler. We'll see if they write the same panic inducing reports when that happens.

ICU beds need to be available for all the people who have other events such as heart attacks and accidents. The FL plot clearly shows how the Covid surge is pushing out other users. FL is blessed with lots of ICU beds due to having lots of old people and many hospitals. But the graph clearly shows that this surge is bigger than those in the past. AND, I have read that Covid ICU patients require more staff. So besides the actual bed and equipment you have to have staff. I think doctors consider running at 91% of total capacity and nearly 50% are Covid a dire situation.

[SkBlogW]

ICU beds need to be available for all the people who have other events such as heart attacks and accidents. The FL plot clearly shows how the Covid surge is pushing out other users. FL is blessed with lots of ICU beds due to having lots of old people and many hospitals. But the graph clearly shows that this surge is bigger than those in the past. AND, I have read that Covid ICU patients require more staff. So besides the actual bed and equipment you have to have staff. I think doctors consider running at 91% of total capacity and nearly 50% are Covid a dire situation.


Current covid % of ICU beds available = 47%

The graph only goes back to week ending Aug 2, 2020, when covid % of ICU beds = 40%

Last summer the date of peak cases was mid July 12, that wave hit Florida earlier than this one, so if the graph went back a few more weeks the % of covid ICU beds would be a few points higher, so not that big of a difference from now.

If you look at the graph for all of USA, the peak covid % of ICU beds was larger in January 2021 than it is now.

There is no doubt that the Delta variant is infecting large number of people. The good news is that the Infection Fatality Rate is much lower than in previous waves. The average age of current covid cases is lower, (most older americans are vaccinated and covid kills much less in younger age groups) and we also have better treatments in the hospitals.

Some scientists I read think we are close to peak cases in Florida, deaths will go up at bit more (but never reach previous peaks) and then start to fall

90464

[MDLNB]

ICU beds need to be available for all the people who have other events such as heart attacks and accidents. The FL plot clearly shows how the Covid surge is pushing out other users. FL is blessed with lots of ICU beds due to having lots of old people and many hospitals. But the graph clearly shows that this surge is bigger than those in the past. AND, I have read that Covid ICU patients require more staff. So besides the actual bed and equipment you have to have staff. I think doctors consider running at 91% of total capacity and nearly 50% are Covid a dire situation.


The stats do not support that exaggerated statement. A surge of hospitalizations but not greater than the past unless you are suggesting the immediate past. In that case, anything greater is a surge.

[John41]

I keep seeing headlines like these in the media:

Florida hospitals are overrun as state fights one of the worst Covid outbreaks in the U.S.

The fear merchants in the media are using the same tricks they deployed during the last surge. They find a few hospitals that are at 100% capacity or beyond, and write the article to imply its all hospitals.

I like to check John Hopkins website for accurate data.

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend/florida)

You can hover your cursor over each week to get the 7 day moving average. For the week ending yesterday (Aug 15) Florida shows 91% of ICU beds occupied, which is busy but they normally run at 85%. The ICU beds occupied by covid patients is less than 50%, so hospitals are busy treating all kinds of patients.

What about the entire US?

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend)

Total ICU beds occupied = 76%

Covid patients occupy 22% of all ICU beds available

The Florida Delta surge will peak fairly soon and then start going down, just like last summer. Now the Delta surge will start happening up north as it gets cooler. We'll see if they write the same panic inducing reports when that happens.

Texas hospitals are overrun with Covid infected illegal immigrants who are taking 75% of the beds. CDC says they aren’t following Covid 19 cases on the southern border.

[Taltarzac725]

Texas hospitals are overrun with Covid infected illegal immigrants who are taking 75% of the beds. CDC says they aren’t following Covid 19 cases on the southern border.

What is the source for this?

ICE Guidance on COVID-19 | ICE (https://www.ice.gov/coronavirus)

[John41]

What is the source for this?

ICE Guidance on COVID-19 | ICE (https://www.ice.gov/coronavirus)

Texas health director was on tv this morning. They tried to avoid this but were blocked by the admin getting an injunction from a friendly judge. With the mess in Afghanistan the border surge will intensify with 13% of illegals tested being Covid positive and over 200,000 illegals entering each month. And now terrorists will be crossing that border.

[golfing eagles]

ICU beds need to be available for all the people who have other events such as heart attacks and accidents. The FL plot clearly shows how the Covid surge is pushing out other users. FL is blessed with lots of ICU beds due to having lots of old people and many hospitals. But the graph clearly shows that this surge is bigger than those in the past. AND, I have read that Covid ICU patients require more staff. So besides the actual bed and equipment you have to have staff. I think doctors consider running at 91% of total capacity and nearly 50% are Covid a dire situation.

IF the OPs numbers are correct, then ICU bed occupancy at 91% vs, 85% norm is no big deal. In NY, we were generally at 110-120% ICU occupancy from 1980-2015 (the excess patients had to be held in the ER or the recovery rooms).
And I see no reason why "COVID patients" would require more staff than the usual disasters in the ICU. So this doctor does not consider it a "dire situation", perhaps someone can name a few that do?

[Taltarzac725]

Texas health director was on tv this morning. They tried to avoid this but were blocked by the admin getting an injunction from a friendly judge. With the mess in Afghanistan the border surge will intensify with 13% of illegals tested being Covid positive and over 200,000 illegals entering each month. And now terrorists will be crossing that border.

What channel? There is news and then there is extremely slanted news.

With the fall of Afghanistan refugees from there would probably go to where there are existing social support systems. Afghan Americans - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Americans)

[NoMoSno]

What channel? There is news and then there is extremely slanted news.

With the fall of Afghanistan refugees from there would probably go to where there are existing social support systems. Afghan Americans - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Americans)
The Texas health director interview was on MSNBC.
But they are known to have extremely slanted news.

[LateBoomer]

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

[Billy1]

A few more will die and all will be good? Up north they will not complain? Northerners only complain when they come to the south?

[scottiesrgreat@gmail.com]

Went to one of those stand-alone ERs - I fell and hurt my knee. I drove up - I thought they were closed - totally empty - immediately took me in and was out in less than 30 minutes.

Based on some of the news reports - I was expecting a long long line and a 6 hour wait.

[Girlcopper]

I keep seeing headlines like these in the media:

Florida hospitals are overrun as state fights one of the worst Covid outbreaks in the U.S.

The fear merchants in the media are using the same tricks they deployed during the last surge. They find a few hospitals that are at 100% capacity or beyond, and write the article to imply its all hospitals.

I like to check John Hopkins website for accurate data.

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend/florida)

You can hover your cursor over each week to get the 7 day moving average. For the week ending yesterday (Aug 15) Florida shows 91% of ICU beds occupied, which is busy but they normally run at 85%. The ICU beds occupied by covid patients is less than 50%, so hospitals are busy treating all kinds of patients.

What about the entire US?

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend)

Total ICU beds occupied = 76%

Covid patients occupy 22% of all ICU beds available

The Florida Delta surge will peak fairly soon and then start going down, just like last summer. Now the Delta surge will start happening up north as it gets cooler. We'll see if they write the same panic inducing reports when that happens.
You call them “ panic inducing reports” yet you continue to repost the articles which causes the panic. Read the articles, throw them away. No need to regurgitate everything you read, and some articles have lousy sources

[Villages Kahuna]

I can tell from reading the responses above that most who have taken time to post are naysayers regarding the gravity of the COVID problem in Florida and nearby. I guess I don’t know why, but that’s not worth discussing.

Yes, there are lots of statistics published by various sources, but not all are easily interpreted or current. But there are reliable anecdotal reports which are also available to each of us

I was personally told by two of my doctors last Thursday that as of the day before, no hospital within 75 miles of The Villages was accepting new patients for ANY reason unless they had a room vacated. They rattled off the names of all the hospitals that I was familiar with from Ocala south to north of Orlando.

They told me that the hospitals in Ocala were sending COVID patients home with a tank of oxygen and a mask, which has now resulted in a shortage of oxygen in the area.

I live nearby The Villages Regional Hospital and I can count the number of sirens I’ve heard going into the ER in the last couple of weeks on one hand. I drove by yesterday and the ER parking lot was more than half empty.

The hospitals have cancelled all but necessary surgeries or procedures of any kind, as have many doctor’s offices. The Villages Health offices were reported to have 26 COVID cases among their staff. My primary care doctor is only doing “tele-health” appointments for the time being.

The 250 doctor statewide Florida Cancer Specialists have cancelled all but required chemo and radiation treatments and mandated that all employees be vaccinated by next Monday as a requirement to work. One of my doctors told me that 4 of his patients died last week from COVID, all male, less than 40 years old, and all unvaccinated.

Is the reported COVID spike in Florida hitting close to home here in The Villages? Use the statistics, but also consider what you’re seeing among your own friends and neighbors.

Call your doctor and ask. That would be a better source of information than any opinion you read here. Then draw your own conclusions.

[jdulej]

Yes, there are lots of statistics published by reliable sources. But there are reliable anecdotal reports which are also available.

I was personally told by two of my doctors last Thursday that as of the day before, no hospital within 75 miles of The Villages was accepting new patients for ANY reason unless they had a room vacated. They rattled off the names of all the hospitals that I was familiar with from Ocala south to north of Orlando.

They told me that the hospitals in Ocala were sending COVID patients home with a tank of oxygen and a mask, which has now resulted in a shortage of oxygen in the area.

I live nearby The Villages Regional Hospital and I can count the number of sirens I’ve heard going into the ER in the last couple of weeks on one hand. I drove by yesterday and the ER parking lot was more than half empty.

The hospitals have cancelled all but necessary surgeries or procedures if any kind, as have many doctor’s offices. The Villages Health offices were reported to have 26 COVID cases among their staff. The 250 doctor statewide Florida Cancer Specialists have cancelled all but required chemo and radiation treatments and have mandated that all employees be vaccinated by next Monday. One of my doctors told me that 4 of his patients died last week from COVID, all male, less than 40 years old, and all unvaccinated.

Is the reported COVID spike in Florida hitting close to home here in The Villages? Draw your own conclusions.

Unfortunately, my experience lines up with your comments. A close relative of mine had non-elective surgery about 10 days ago at Ocala Regional Hosp. Large areas of the hospital were fenced off for Covid only, and she was one of very few non Covid patients. No one was allowed into the hospital to visit, and there were no emergency vehicles entering while I was waiting for her in the parking lot (2 hrs). Ocala is a trauma hospital, and it is usually super active 24X7.
People can come up with all the graphs they want to tell whatever story they want - there is something very bad going on here in Florida.

[Billy1]

Is an emergency parking lot being half empty good or bad news?

[KMcgee]

A look from Gainesville. ( sources family that work at Shands and North Florida & message from CEO at Shands )

Video from CEO at Shands on Covid
Log into Facebook | Facebook (https://fb.watch/7kTeMyMmb0/)
Log into Facebook | Facebook (https://fb.watch/7kTeMyMmb0/)

Shands at its peak Shands had 157 + Covid-19 Patients, with the current Delta Varient surge they have 225+ patients, requiring them to postpone elective surgeries and convert medical surgical beds to add additional ICU beds. In these numbers are 10 children 9 of which are in ICU status.

North Florida Hospital has 180+ Covid patients, they also needed to establish additional ICU beds in order to support patient need. Also the need for high flow oxygen exceeded there capacity requiring them to make adjustments to there Oxygen delivery system in order to meet patient need. Nurses are being paid an hourly premium and daily bonus as incentive due to the demand for nursing resources.

V.A. Hospital authorization was received for them to accept Covid patient transfers from Shands

[kenoc7]

Texas health director was on tv this morning. They tried to avoid this but were blocked by the admin getting an injunction from a friendly judge. With the mess in Afghanistan the border surge will intensify with 13% of illegals tested being Covid positive and over 200,000 illegals entering each month. And now terrorists will be crossing that border.
Please stop the bigotry and fear mongering

[taruffi57]

And then there is the "Lambda" surge...........

[Bay Kid]

Texas health director was on tv this morning. They tried to avoid this but were blocked by the admin getting an injunction from a friendly judge. With the mess in Afghanistan the border surge will intensify with 13% of illegals tested being Covid positive and over 200,000 illegals entering each month. And now terrorists will be crossing that border.

Why is it such a secret where all the illegals have been placed throughout our country?

[Beyond The Wall]

Seasonal flu has the same affect . Trying to scare sheep again

[Billy1]

Why would you call great Americans like us sheep?

[NoMo50]

Please stop the bigotry and fear mongering

Fear mongering? Bigotry? Sure...let's all just bury our heads in the sand, and pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

[paquino]

Texas hospitals are overrun with Covid infected illegal immigrants who are taking 75% of the beds. CDC says they aren’t following Covid 19 cases on the southern border.

Where did that info come from?

[tonycirocco@me.com]

Went to one of those stand-alone ERs - I fell and hurt my knee. I drove up - I thought they were closed - totally empty - immediately took me in and was out in less than 30 minutes.

Based on some of the news reports - I was expecting a long long line and a 6 hour wait.

Which one?????

[glsatterlee]

40 Percent of Illegal Immigrants Released in Texas City Tested Positive for COVID-19: Officials

27 Fully-Vaccinated People Aboard Carnival Cruise Test Positive for CCP Virus

[MandoMan]

Current covid % of ICU beds available = 47%

The graph only goes back to week ending Aug 2, 2020, when covid % of ICU beds = 40%

Last summer the date of peak cases was mid July 12, that wave hit Florida earlier than this one, so if the graph went back a few more weeks the % of covid ICU beds would be a few points higher, so not that big of a difference from now.

If you look at the graph for all of USA, the peak covid % of ICU beds was larger in January 2021 than it is now.

There is no doubt that the Delta variant is infecting large number of people. The good news is that the Infection Fatality Rate is much lower than in previous waves. The average age of current covid cases is lower, (most older americans are vaccinated and covid kills much less in younger age groups) and we also have better treatments in the hospitals.

Some scientists I read think we are close to peak cases in Florida, deaths will go up at bit more (but never reach previous peaks) and then start to fall

90464

My college girlfriend’s son is about 40, a vet who served three tours in Afghanistan. He didn’t think he needed to get vaccinated. Now he is in the hospital with severe Covid-caused pneumonia. He thinks he’ll be home in a few days. I hope so. His chest x-Ray looks pretty bad. A friend of mine who had Covid in January but wasn’t admitted to a hospital died last month after a double valve replacement because his lungs were “like concrete” from Covid damage and couldn’t transfer enough oxygen for him to survive, even after 10 days on ECMO to give his heart a chance to heal.

[Marine1974]

Newsweek reports Florida ICU beds are at 200% capacity.
The other issue is not having enough staff to operate covid ICU
patients . Florida is surging right now . Best to call hospitals in Florida and ask if you want the truth.

[cheweycat]

This is a conspiracy promoting Statemen†

[jdulej]

Is an emergency parking lot being half empty good or bad news?

It's bad.

[Bonnevie]

here is the 7 day average occupancy of the Villages UF hospital as of Aug.6 first number is inpatient hospital beds sec. is ICU COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Hospitalizations
UF HEALTH THE VILLAGES HOSPITAL (THE VILLAGES, FL)

Aug. 6, 2021 256.0 99.7% 219.3 of 220.0 beds used 83.1% 26.6 of 32.0 beds used

remember even more important than the number of beds is the staff needed. so there may be beds but is there enough staff?

[Gizemo33]

3 Unvaccinated Teachers in Florida County Die of COVID Within 24 Hours
The three elementary school teachers, who worked in Broward County, Florida, were under 50 years old

[joelfmi]

gossip is silenced with gold

[Gabi12]

Fear mongering!!!!

I keep seeing headlines like these in the media:

Florida hospitals are overrun as state fights one of the worst Covid outbreaks in the U.S.

The fear merchants in the media are using the same tricks they deployed during the last surge. They find a few hospitals that are at 100% capacity or beyond, and write the article to imply its all hospitals.

I like to check John Hopkins website for accurate data.

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend/florida)

You can hover your cursor over each week to get the 7 day moving average. For the week ending yesterday (Aug 15) Florida shows 91% of ICU beds occupied, which is busy but they normally run at 85%. The ICU beds occupied by covid patients is less than 50%, so hospitals are busy treating all kinds of patients.

What about the entire US?

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend)

Total ICU beds occupied = 76%

Covid patients occupy 22% of all ICU beds available

The Florida Delta surge will peak fairly soon and then start going down, just like last summer. Now the Delta surge will start happening up north as it gets cooler. We'll see if they write the same panic inducing reports when that happens.

[Kgcetm]

My physicians tell me that local ICUs are near max capacity. Covid cases are high percentage with most unvaccinated.

Get the shots.

[MDLNB]

Why would you call great Americans like us sheep?


If it "Baaaa's like a sheep and wears a wool coat........."

[HORNET]

And most are going around with out face protection

[golfing eagles]

I can tell from reading the responses above that most who have taken time to post are naysayers regarding the gravity of the COVID problem in Florida and nearby. I guess I don’t know why, but that’s not worth discussing.

Yes, there are lots of statistics published by various sources, but not all are easily interpreted or current. But there are reliable anecdotal reports which are also available to each of us

I was personally told by two of my doctors last Thursday that as of the day before, no hospital within 75 miles of The Villages was accepting new patients for ANY reason unless they had a room vacated. They rattled off the names of all the hospitals that I was familiar with from Ocala south to north of Orlando.

They told me that the hospitals in Ocala were sending COVID patients home with a tank of oxygen and a mask, which has now resulted in a shortage of oxygen in the area.

I live nearby The Villages Regional Hospital and I can count the number of sirens I’ve heard going into the ER in the last couple of weeks on one hand. I drove by yesterday and the ER parking lot was more than half empty.

The hospitals have cancelled all but necessary surgeries or procedures of any kind, as have many doctor’s offices. The Villages Health offices were reported to have 26 COVID cases among their staff. My primary care doctor is only doing “tele-health” appointments for the time being.

The 250 doctor statewide Florida Cancer Specialists have cancelled all but required chemo and radiation treatments and mandated that all employees be vaccinated by next Monday as a requirement to work. One of my doctors told me that 4 of his patients died last week from COVID, all male, less than 40 years old, and all unvaccinated.

Is the reported COVID spike in Florida hitting close to home here in The Villages? Use the statistics, but also consider what you’re seeing among your own friends and neighbors.

Call your doctor and ask. That would be a better source of information than any opinion you read here. Then draw your own conclusions.

Good post, with one exception. "Reliable anecdotal reports"---now that's an oxymoron if ever I heard one

[JoeinFL]

here is the 7 day average occupancy of the Villages UF hospital as of Aug.6 first number is inpatient hospital beds sec. is ICU COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Hospitalizations
UF HEALTH THE VILLAGES HOSPITAL (THE VILLAGES, FL)

Aug. 6, 2021 256.0 99.7% 219.3 of 220.0 beds used 83.1% 26.6 of 32.0 beds used

remember even more important than the number of beds is the staff needed. so there may be beds but is there enough staff?

Unfortunately, many people could care less about our health care workers. I know several that are getting worn out.
It’s a shame.

[kathyspear]

3 Unvaccinated Teachers in Florida County Die of COVID Within 24 Hours
The three elementary school teachers, who worked in Broward County, Florida, were under 50 years old

(1) School had not yet opened when they became ill and died, so their illnesses were not the result of being in the classroom (which is what the media is implying with that headline).

(2) Were they obese?

(3) Did they have any other pre-existing conditions?

Just curious.

kathy

[Merrills]

I keep seeing headlines like these in the media:

Florida hospitals are overrun as state fights one of the worst Covid outbreaks in the U.S.

The fear merchants in the media are using the same tricks they deployed during the last surge. They find a few hospitals that are at 100% capacity or beyond, and write the article to imply its all hospitals.

I like to check John Hopkins website for accurate data.

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend/florida)

You can hover your cursor over each week to get the 7 day moving average. For the week ending yesterday (Aug 15) Florida shows 91% of ICU beds occupied, which is busy but they normally run at 85%. The ICU beds occupied by covid patients is less than 50%, so hospitals are busy treating all kinds of patients.

What about the entire US?

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend)

Total ICU beds occupied = 76%

Covid patients occupy 22% of all ICU beds available

The Florida Delta surge will peak fairly soon and then start going down, just like last summer. Now the Delta surge will start happening up north as it gets cooler. We'll see if they write the same panic inducing reports when that happens.
My daughter is an ER RN in a large hospital about 25 miles north of here and comes home exhausted after her 12 hour shifts. Covid is 95% of their patient load and they have em stacked in the hallways waiting for someone to die so they can get a room in the ICU. Tragedy that when the solution is there that people are too stupid or stubborn to get vaccinated. Of the 95% of their Covid load, 98% are young unvaccinated people. No excuse people. VACCINES WORK

[Topspinmo]

The Texas health director interview was on MSNBC.
But they are known to have extremely slanted news.

I’m surprised they broadcasted it.

[Villages Kahuna]

These are not hospitals, but two local Walmart stores—the one on CR 466 in The Villages and the one on US 441 in Summerfield—are either scheduled or have already closed for “sanitizing and cleaning”. These are apparently short term closures, a couple of days or so. Walmart has not announced the reason for their decision to close for sanitizing and cleaning of the stores.

[coralway]

I keep seeing headlines like these in the media:

Florida hospitals are overrun as state fights one of the worst Covid outbreaks in the U.S.

The fear merchants in the media are using the same tricks they deployed during the last surge. They find a few hospitals that are at 100% capacity or beyond, and write the article to imply its all hospitals.

I like to check John Hopkins website for accurate data.

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend/florida)

You can hover your cursor over each week to get the 7 day moving average. For the week ending yesterday (Aug 15) Florida shows 91% of ICU beds occupied, which is busy but they normally run at 85%. The ICU beds occupied by covid patients is less than 50%, so hospitals are busy treating all kinds of patients.

What about the entire US?

Weekly Hospitalization Trends - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend)

Total ICU beds occupied = 76%

Covid patients occupy 22% of all ICU beds available

The Florida Delta surge will peak fairly soon and then start going down, just like last summer. Now the Delta surge will start happening up north as it gets cooler. We'll see if they write the same panic inducing reports when that happens.





Stop looking at the headlines, and you won’t have to worry. Anyway, the whole thing is a hoax. Remember? Or, you can refer to it as “alternative facts “.

[NoMoSno]

These are not hospitals, but two local Walmart stores—the one on CR 466 in The Villages and the one on US 441 in Summerfield—are either scheduled or have already closed for “sanitizing and cleaning”. These are apparently short term closures, a couple of days or so. Walmart has not announced the reason for their decision to close for sanitizing and cleaning of the stores.
Walmart is doing this country-wide.

[Love2Swim]

I can tell from reading the responses above that most who have taken time to post are naysayers regarding the gravity of the COVID problem in Florida and nearby. I guess I don’t know why, but that’s not worth discussing.

Yes, there are lots of statistics published by various sources, but not all are easily interpreted or current. But there are reliable anecdotal reports which are also available to each of us

I was personally told by two of my doctors last Thursday that as of the day before, no hospital within 75 miles of The Villages was accepting new patients for ANY reason unless they had a room vacated. They rattled off the names of all the hospitals that I was familiar with from Ocala south to north of Orlando.

They told me that the hospitals in Ocala were sending COVID patients home with a tank of oxygen and a mask, which has now resulted in a shortage of oxygen in the area.

I live nearby The Villages Regional Hospital and I can count the number of sirens I’ve heard going into the ER in the last couple of weeks on one hand. I drove by yesterday and the ER parking lot was more than half empty.

The hospitals have cancelled all but necessary surgeries or procedures of any kind, as have many doctor’s offices. The Villages Health offices were reported to have 26 COVID cases among their staff. My primary care doctor is only doing “tele-health” appointments for the time being.

The 250 doctor statewide Florida Cancer Specialists have cancelled all but required chemo and radiation treatments and mandated that all employees be vaccinated by next Monday as a requirement to work. One of my doctors told me that 4 of his patients died last week from COVID, all male, less than 40 years old, and all unvaccinated.

Is the reported COVID spike in Florida hitting close to home here in The Villages? Use the statistics, but also consider what you’re seeing among your own friends and neighbors.

Call your doctor and ask. That would be a better source of information than any opinion you read here. Then draw your own conclusions.

Thank you. I can add that a vaccinated friend was diagnosed recently, started feeling really bad, went to the Leesburg hospital and spent the night on a gurney, finally was able to get into a room the next day and spent 4 or 5 days there with pneumonia . Even if all the beds aren’t full, the staff are overworked. It’s not a good situation.

[JoelJohnson]

I spent 12 hours in the Villages Regional Hospital ER waiting room the other night, it wasn't until 6:30 the next morning that they found me room. Waited another 6 hours waiting to be discharged.

[Byte1]

I spent 12 hours in the Villages Regional Hospital ER waiting room the other night, it wasn't until 6:30 the next morning that they found me room. Waited another 6 hours waiting to be discharged.

That's just another normal day at the Villages Hospital.

[Love2Swim]

That's just another normal day at the Villages Hospital.

It didn’t used to be.

[dewilson58]

That's just another normal day at the Villages Hospital.

Same at Ocala, it's not just TVH.

[tophcfa]

I can tell from reading the responses above that most who have taken time to post are naysayers regarding the gravity of the COVID problem in Florida and nearby. I guess I don’t know why, but that’s not worth discussing.

Yes, there are lots of statistics published by various sources, but not all are easily interpreted or current. But there are reliable anecdotal reports which are also available to each of us

I was personally told by two of my doctors last Thursday that as of the day before, no hospital within 75 miles of The Villages was accepting new patients for ANY reason unless they had a room vacated. They rattled off the names of all the hospitals that I was familiar with from Ocala south to north of Orlando.

They told me that the hospitals in Ocala were sending COVID patients home with a tank of oxygen and a mask, which has now resulted in a shortage of oxygen in the area.

I live nearby The Villages Regional Hospital and I can count the number of sirens I’ve heard going into the ER in the last couple of weeks on one hand. I drove by yesterday and the ER parking lot was more than half empty.

The hospitals have cancelled all but necessary surgeries or procedures of any kind, as have many doctor’s offices. The Villages Health offices were reported to have 26 COVID cases among their staff. My primary care doctor is only doing “tele-health” appointments for the time being.

The 250 doctor statewide Florida Cancer Specialists have cancelled all but required chemo and radiation treatments and mandated that all employees be vaccinated by next Monday as a requirement to work. One of my doctors told me that 4 of his patients died last week from COVID, all male, less than 40 years old, and all unvaccinated.

Is the reported COVID spike in Florida hitting close to home here in The Villages? Use the statistics, but also consider what you’re seeing among your own friends and neighbors.

Call your doctor and ask. That would be a better source of information than any opinion you read here. Then draw your own conclusions.

That's just another normal day at the Villages Hospital.

Same at Ocala, it's not just TVH.

This is no joke, it is a very real and serious situation. It’s an easy situation to ignore or label as fear mongering, UNTIL YOU ARE THE ONE THAT BECOMES SICK AND NEEDS A ROOM.

I recently became acutely ill and had a close brush with the grim reaper. I spent 12 hours in the Villages ER only to be mis-diagnosed and sent home because they had no beds/rooms. As I continued to get sicker at home, I refused to call 911, knowing I would get picked up and dumped off at the same incompetent and over stressed hospital with no open rooms. I quickly became too sick to drive and was convinced I was going to die at home (a week earlier I was an extremely healthy and active man for my age, who worked out daily). Fortunately, my wife (and guardian angel) canceled everything and rushed down to our home in the Villages to rescue me. She first brought me to the Ocala Regional Hospital, which also had no rooms and was a wast of the little valuable remaining time I had. She then decided we needed to get further away from the Villages in the hope of finding a hospital with an open ICU room. She took me to Gainesville and brought me to a stand alone ER affiliated with the North Florida Regional Medical Center. At that point I was so sick I don’t remember much, but my wife told me they quickly ran a bunch of tests, accessed me, and determined I needed an ICU bed ASAP. An ambulance brought me to the main NRFMC building where I checked into one of the three remaining ICU beds. After keeping me barley alive and running every imaginable test for four days, they finally figured out what was wrong with me. As it turned out, I was bitten by a tick up north before going to our Villages home. Lyme disease from the tick was the least of my problems, the tick also injected a nasty parasite into my bloodstream called Babesiosis. The closest thing in this world to Babesiosis is Malaria, which is a parasite that attacks and kills the hosts red blood cells. Once properly diagnose and treated, the very long and slow recovery began. If it wasn’t for my wonderful wife, and the NFRMC, I would have died.

The moral of the story is, don’t underestimate the severity of not having open hospital beds, it could easily kill you.

[golfing eagles]

This is no joke, it is a very real and serious situation. It’s an easy situation to ignore or label as fear mongering, UNTIL YOU ARE THE ONE THAT BECOMES SICK AND NEEDS A ROOM.

I recently became acutely ill and had a close brush with the grim reaper. I spent 12 hours in the Villages ER only to be mis-diagnosed and sent home because they had no beds/rooms. As I continued to get sicker at home, I refused to call 911, knowing I would get picked up and dumped off at the same incompetent and over stressed hospital with no open rooms. I quickly became too sick to drive and was convinced I was going to die at home (a week earlier I was an extremely healthy and active man for my age, who worked out daily). Fortunately, my wife (and guardian angel) canceled everything and rushed down to our home in the Villages to rescue me. She first brought me to the Ocala Regional Hospital, which also had no rooms and was a wast of the little valuable remaining time I had. She then decided we needed to get further away from the Villages in the hope of finding a hospital with an open ICU room. She took me to Gainesville and brought me to a stand alone ER affiliated with the North Florida Regional Medical Center. At that point I was so sick I don’t remember much, but my wife told me they quickly ran a bunch of tests, accessed me, and determined I needed an ICU bed ASAP. An ambulance brought me to the main NRFMC building where I checked into one of the three remaining ICU beds. After keeping me barley alive and running every imaginable test for four days, they finally figured out what was wrong with me. As it turned out, I was bitten by a tick up north before going to our Villages home. Lyme disease from the tick was the least of my problems, the tick also injected a nasty parasite into my bloodstream called Babesiosis. The closest thing in this world to Babesiosis is Malaria, which is a parasite that attacks and kills the hosts red blood cells. Once properly diagnose and treated, the very long and slow recovery began. If it wasn’t for my wonderful wife, and the NFRMC, I would have died.

The moral of the story is, don’t underestimate the severity of not having open hospital beds, it could easily kill you.

Wow---this is an amazing story---a case of babesiosis in Central Florida. Almost all cases are found in the Northeast or Upper Midwest, no wonder any doctor here would have trouble making the diagnosis. Plus it requires specific laboratory confirmation.

Another problem diagnosing in this particular case was the severity---apparently you were critically ill----most cases of babesiosis have no symptoms whatsoever. But. for a few people this can be VERY serious. From the CDC:

Many people who are infected with Babesia microti feel fine and do not have any symptoms. Some people develop nonspecific flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, sweats, headache, body aches, loss of appetite, nausea, or fatigue.

Because Babesia parasites infect and destroy red blood cells, babesiosis can cause a special type of anemia called hemolytic anemia. This type of anemia can lead to jaundice (yellowing of the skin) and dark urine.

Babesiosis can be a severe, life-threatening disease, particularly in people who

Do not have a spleen;
Have a weak immune system for other reasons (such as cancer, lymphoma, or AIDS);
Have other serious health conditions (such as liver or kidney disease); or
Are elderly.
Complications of babesiosis can include

A low and unstable blood pressure;
Severe hemolytic anemia (hemolysis);
A very low platelet count (thrombocytopenia);
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (also known as “DIC” or consumptive coagulopathy), which can lead to blood clots and bleeding;
Malfunction of vital organs (such as the kidneys, lungs, and liver); or
Death.

Stay well.

[Lindsyburnsy]

I’ve never known a hoax that has left over 600,000 dead. Of course there sre those who believe the Holocaust was a hoax too. Facebook is not your friend nor is Fox News. Stop looking at the headlines, and you won’t have to worry. Anyway, the whole thing is a hoax. Remember? Or, you can refer to it as “alternative facts “.

[Lindsyburnsy]

If it’s a trauma CENTER, then it’s bad news., unless you want to believe there are no car accidents, gunshot victims, heart attacks, drug overdoses, drownings, etc. going on. Is an emergency parking lot being half empty good or bad news?

[jimjamuser]

Good post, with one exception. "Reliable anecdotal reports"---now that's an oxymoron if ever I heard one
IF (?) the hospitals themselves are not being transparent and forthright about public information - then the public is FORCED to grasp for less reliable sources of information. My wife heard on the news several times that 75% of Florida hospitals are CRITICALLY UNDERSTAFFED! Texas had to bring in 5 refrigerator trucks for bodies and a Federal SURGE team of medical staff. That may (?) be next for Florida?

[CoachKandSportsguy]

This is no joke, it is a very real and serious situation. It’s an easy situation to ignore or label as fear mongering, UNTIL YOU ARE THE ONE THAT BECOMES SICK AND NEEDS A ROOM.

The moral of the story is, don’t underestimate the severity of not having open hospital beds, it could easily kill you.

So glad you had a good outcome, and yes, the secondary and tertiary effect of the pandemic is that the current local hospital systems are not built for these 100 year events and so unfortunate events can, will and have happened. .

ticks and brown recluse spiders scare me more than snakes!

another finance guy

[jimjamuser]

3 Unvaccinated Teachers in Florida County Die of COVID Within 24 Hours
The three elementary school teachers, who worked in Broward County, Florida, were under 50 years old
The Delta variant affects younger people than the original US variant. 18% of those hospitalized in Texas are CHILDREN.

[golfing eagles]

IF (?) the hospitals themselves are not being transparent and forthright about public information - then the public is FORCED to grasp for less reliable sources of information. My wife heard on the news several times that 75% of Florida hospitals are CRITICALLY UNDERSTAFFED! Texas had to bring in 5 refrigerator trucks for bodies and a Federal SURGE team of medical staff. That may (?) be next for Florida?

Maybe. IF that news report was true. And then again, maybe not.

[jimjamuser]

I’ve never known a hoax that has left over 600,000 dead. Of course there sre those who believe the Holocaust was a hoax too. Facebook is not your friend nor is Fox News.
I agree with the contents of this post.

[PugMom]

I’ve never known a hoax that has left over 600,000 dead. Of course there sre those who believe the Holocaust was a hoax too. Facebook is not your friend nor is Fox News.

also MANY forms of mainstream media

[Carla B]

Wow---this is an amazing story---a case of babesiosis in Central Florida. Almost all cases are found in the Northeast or Upper Midwest, no wonder any doctor here would have trouble making the diagnosis. Plus it requires specific laboratory confirmation.

Another problem diagnosing in this particular case was the severity---apparently you were critically ill----most cases of babesiosis have no symptoms whatsoever. But. for a few people this can be VERY serious. From the CDC:

Many people who are infected with Babesia microti feel fine and do not have any symptoms. Some people develop nonspecific flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, sweats, headache, body aches, loss of appetite, nausea, or fatigue.

Because Babesia parasites infect and destroy red blood cells, babesiosis can cause a special type of anemia called hemolytic anemia. This type of anemia can lead to jaundice (yellowing of the skin) and dark urine.

Babesiosis can be a severe, life-threatening disease, particularly in people who

Do not have a spleen;
Have a weak immune system for other reasons (such as cancer, lymphoma, or AIDS);
Have other serious health conditions (such as liver or kidney disease); or
Are elderly.
Complications of babesiosis can include

A low and unstable blood pressure;
Severe hemolytic anemia (hemolysis);
A very low platelet count (thrombocytopenia);
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (also known as “DIC” or consumptive coagulopathy), which can lead to blood clots and bleeding;
Malfunction of vital organs (such as the kidneys, lungs, and liver); or
Death.

Stay well.

Tophcha was bitten by the tick wherever he lives up north (MA?) and suffered the consequences only when he arrived at his Villages' home. It was scary just reading about it.